DOCSLIB.ORG

An Act of Survival a Portrait of California Pioneer Andrew Kelsey - Et Al

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
An Act of Survival a Portrait of California Pioneer Andrew Kelsey - Et Al An Act of Survival A Portrait of California Pioneer Andrew Kelsey - Et al. “The ‘49ers Edward Curtis Down through the ages, the unanticipated actions of ordinary folk inevitably influence key historic events in unimagined ways. During California’s Gold Rush Era and beyond, Andrew Kelsey and his brothers were that sort of influence on events of the day. Their actions and consequence still reverberate throughout the State of California, one hundred and seventy years later. Daniel Boone’s Dream In 1799, Kentucky’s legendary frontiersman Colonel Daniel Boone and his extended family left their beloved Appalachia and emigrated to the Missouri Territory. Many followed his lead. Boone’s eyes were on North America’s far western wilderness, and he so wanted to go there. Alas, his legs were a generation too old to carry him yonder. The Missouri Territory attr acted many frontiersmen, as it was the primary United States foothold on the continent, west of the Great Mississippi River. At the time, the Mississippi Basin was claimed by European hostiles: France, Britain, and Spain. Missouri was a safe haven, and the primary American corridor past the Mississippi to The Trails of the West. Commons Creative Daniel Boone In 1830, the Kelsey Clan of Barren County, Kentucky , followed Boone’s lead and emigrated to the Missouri Territory. Andrew Kelsey was one of five brothers and six sisters. Andrew’s eldest brother David was a noted veteran of the War of 1812. Andrew’s father Samuel Sr. hails back to the Revolutionary War with Great Grandpa Moses and his patriotic Virginian Scotch-Irish immigrant father John, bearing witness to the birth of America. Andrew Kelsey and several siblings came to Missouri on legs that were young, strong and enlightened by a family legacy steeped in patriotic fervor. However, Missouri was just a short stop along the way for the Kelsey’s. A continent lay waiting. Daniel Boone’s dream of exploring the west became a Kelsey Clan reality, for better or worse. 1 Kelsey Clan Mischief in Missouri Land records indicate the first Missouri homestead of the Kelsey’s was in St. Clair County. In 1838, the whole clan up and left St. Clair after a lawsuit against young Andrew Kelsey was prepared in Missouri’s State Supreme Court regarding a pre-emption claim on land adjoining the Kelsey homestead. The family skedaddled to Roscoe, Missouri, likely to avoid the fallout from Andrew’s claim jumping shenanigans. Subsequently, Andy’s brother Samuel Kelsey Jr. was brought up on the charge of attempted murder. Sam bailed out, lawyered up, and the charges were later dropped by default. In just a few years, it appears at least two of the Kelsey brothers became rather notorious in Missouri. The Iconic Bidwell/Bartleson Wagon Train In May of 1841, Missourians breathed a collective sigh of relief when most of the Kelsey Clan left for California with the celebrated Bidwell/Bartleson Party. This group was the first to transcend the treacherous Sierra Mountains in order to go directly to Northern California. Twenty-year-old Missouri schoolteacher John Bidwell was the commercial inspiration of this landmark wagon train. Bidwell & Co. recruited nearly five hundred people to make the journey to California through subscription to The Western Emigration Society. Only about sixty-four brave souls actually made the trip. Bidwell’s partner was a guide named Colonel John Bartleson. Bidwell & Bartleson became quite familiar with the Kelsey’s during the grueling journey. Together, they crossed the plains, deserts, and mountains of the American West on their way to California. True grit and character are laid bare under such extreme circumstances. Andrew Kelsey’s brothers Isaac, Samuel & kin came along, but split from the main group at Soda Springs, Idaho with Tom “Broken Hand” Fitzpatrick. He headed for Oregon. Half the pioneers from Bidwell’s wagon train joined them. Fitzpatrick guided this group safely to Willamette Valley in the Oregon Territory by October of ‘41. The thirty-four California bound members of Bidwell’s Party including Andrew, brother Ben & his wife Nancy Kelsey miraculously survived the trek too, despite thunderous threats of buffalo stampedes lurking in the dark of night on the plains. They “abandoned their precious wagons and dined on their starving oxen” while crossing the scorching deserts of Utah and Nevada. Then, they were accosted in the Sierra foothills at night by hostile Piute Indians who had a taste for horse meat. The Bidwell/Bartleson Party literally “walked out of their boots” hiking over the Sierras on foot through Ebbett’s Pass. Fortunately, they spanned the Sierras before snowfall overtook them. On November 4th of 1841, a tattered and barefoot bunch of pioneers arrived at Dr. Marsh’s Los Medanos Ranch in Alta California’s San Joaquin Valley. The Bidwell/Bartleson Party was the first of nearly a half million wagon train pioneers who could proudly say: It is No Matter, For I Have Seen the Elephant ! Ca. State Archives Young John Bidwell – 1840’s John Bidwell - 1861 2 Bidwell’s Regret - The Testimony of an Honored Son of California John Bidwell lived to regret bringing the Kelsey Clan to California. In his memoirs, Bidwell adds horse thief to the Kelsey’s claim jumper reputation in Missouri. He tells us his valued pack animals picketed outside Sutter’s Fort up and vanished in the spring of 1843. John had no clue who ran off with them until tracking the culprits for several days to the Oregon border. There, he came upon a large herd of cattle, horses, and mules tended by the Kelsey brothers and Charles Stone. The boys were running the herd to Oregon’s Fort Vancouver. Bidwell, a well-armed and imposing figure of a man at a robust 6’2,” told the drovers he wanted to check the herd for his animals. He states Andrew Kelsey and Big Charlie Stone denied him access to the herd, and “loudly howled” about the accusation of thievery. Ben Kelsey intervened and allowed his former wagon train comrade to survey the livestock. Bidwell did indeed discover and liberate his animals from the Kelsey herd. By rights, according to the unwritten Code of the West, he could have hung these dirty lowdown mule thieves on the spot! Why he did not, is anyone’s guess. Perhaps Bidwell was outnumbered, or the Kelsey’s had a plausible excuse. Besides, such punishment was surely against John’s nature. In any case, Mr. Bidwell later became one of America’s favorite sons. He was a popular politico known nationwide for his integrity. Congressman Bidwell was the champion of Suffragettes & Prohibitionists, along with his anti-monopoly platform. Therefore, its fairly certain his testimony in this instance is a sober and reliable account of the Kelsey Clan’s malevolent nature. The historic record already provides indications the Kelsey boys were untrustworthy, but hold on, it gets worse… General Vallejo’s Sonoma Presidio State Archives The Kelsey’s and the Sonoma Bear Flag Revolt In 1844 -‘45, most of the Kelsey’s moved to Sonoma Valley from their square mile land grant at French Camp on the Stanislaus River. General Mariano Vallejo was established in Napa & Sonoma as Mexico’s supreme authority in Northern California, and he was known to favor American settlers. Vallejo employed the Kelsey Brothers as cowpokes and sheep herders at his Rancho Petaluma. The following year, the Kelsey’s participated in the Bear Flag Revolt and essentially sacked their Spanish Patron. General Vallejo, his brother Salvador and a few men were taken prisoner without incident by the American Sonoma Osos or Bear Men. Vallejo, his men and his property were treated respectfully. Ben Kelsey’s account claims he played a vital role in this affair. Sam Kelsey Jr.’s signature bears witness to Vallejo’s surrender at Sonoma. Afterwards, Vallejo and his men were imprisoned at Sutter’s Fort, but allowed the freedom of the compound until U.S. Army Captain John Fremont arrived. He incarcerated the Vallejo’s in a cramped calaboose. Confined as such, they caught malaria. The Vallejo’s survived that wretched scourge and were later freed. General Mariano Vallejo was allowed to retain his property and return to his beloved Sonoma Presidio. U.S. Army Captain John Freemont arrived at Sonoma Plaza ten days after the Bear Flag Revolt with a commuted sentence for dishonorable discharge under his belt, freshly signed by President Polk. He immediately declared California to be official U.S. territory and proclaimed himself “Acting Governor.” Days later, Fremont ruthlessly exercised his authority. He ordered Ben Kelsey to kill General Vallejo’s Alcalde of Sonoma, the affable Jose Berryessa and his companions the de Haro twins, just as they came ashore in a rowboat at San Rafael. Fremont’s motto was: leave no enemies behind. To Ben’s credit, he 3 refused this direct order under threat of insubordination. Later, Fremont made sure Ben Kelsey’s application for military pay was denied over this incident. Kit Carson obeyed the order, murdering three unarmed and respected Californios. Years later, Mr. Carson admitted regret for his actions, but qualified it with: just following orders. Carson, Freemont & Bidwell all stated Ben Kelsey was a great scout under any circumstance. Otherwise, the Kelsey brother’s ruthless reputation followed them around like a skunk. The Bear Flag flew over Sonoma for less than a month before the Stars & Stripes were unfurled. Sam Kelsey and Jake York then transferred California’s first state flag to Sutter’s Fort. Along with this iconic banner went the dream of the Independent California Republic. The Bear Flag made its way into the hands of U.S.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Historic Context Statement City of Benicia February 2011 Benicia, CA
    Historic Context Statement City of Benicia February 2011 Benicia, CA Prepared for City of Benicia Department of Public Works & Community Development Prepared by page & turnbull, inc. 1000 Sansome Street, Ste. 200, San Francisco CA 94111 415.362.5154 / www.page-turnbull.com Benicia Historic Context Statement FOREWORD “Benicia is a very pretty place; the situation is well chosen, the land gradually sloping back from the water, with ample space for the spread of the town. The anchorage is excellent, vessels of the largest size being able to tie so near shore as to land goods without lightering. The back country, including the Napa and Sonoma Valleys, is one of the finest agriculture districts in California. Notwithstanding these advantages, Benicia must always remain inferior in commercial advantages, both to San Francisco and Sacramento City.”1 So wrote Bayard Taylor in 1850, less than three years after Benicia’s founding, and another three years before the city would—at least briefly—serve as the capital of California. In the century that followed, Taylor’s assessment was echoed by many authors—that although Benicia had all the ingredients for a great metropolis, it was destined to remain in the shadow of others. Yet these assessments only tell a half truth. While Benicia never became the great commercial center envisioned by its founders, its role in Northern California history is nevertheless one that far outstrips the scale of its geography or the number of its citizens. Benicia gave rise to the first large industrial works in California, hosted the largest train ferries ever constructed, and housed the West Coast’s primary ordnance facility for over 100 years.
    [Show full text]
  • SONOMA VALLEY HISTORICAL HYDROLOGY MAPPING PROJECT, TASK 2.4.B: FINAL REPORT
    Sonoma Valley Historical Hydrology Mapping Project Phase I FINAL REPORT Task 2.4b Arthur Dawson, Baseline Consulting Alex Young, Sonoma Ecology Center Rebecca Lawton Consulting Funded by the Sonoma County Water Agency November 2016 Prepared by: Baseline Consulting, 13750 Arnold Drive, P.O. Box 207, Glen Ellen, CA 95442 Sonoma Ecology Center, P.O. Box 1486, Eldridge, CA 95431 Rebecca Lawton Consulting, P.O. Box 654, Vineburg, CA 95687 BASELINE CONSULTING, SONOMA ECOLOGY CENTER, REBECCA LAWTON CONSULTING 2 CONTENTS OVERVIEW 3 METHODS 5 RESULTS 17 DISCUSSION 22 Comparison of Modern & Historical Conditions 24 RECOMMENDATIONS 27 BIBLIOGRAPHY 30 FIGURES 1. Project Area, Sonoma Valley Watershed, Sonoma County, California 4 2. Definition of Terms and Assumptions 6 3. Wetland Designations Used in this Study 10 4. Certainty Level Standards 14 5. Data Limitations and Temporal Context 15 6. Dates of Sources Used in this Study in Relation to Long-Term Rainfall 16 7. Estimated Pre-Settlement Freshwater Channels and Wetlands 18 8. Estimated Pre-Settlement Freshwater Channels and Wetlands (LIDAR Basemap) 19 9. Estimated Pre-Settlement Freshwater Channels and Wetlands (USGS quads) 20 10. Certainty Levels for Presence of Features Mapped from Historical Sources 21 11. Average annual hydrographs for the historical watershed for Napa River 25 APPENDIXES A. Selected Historical Maps A1. Detail from O’Farrell’s 1848 Rancho Petaluma Map A-2 A2. Confluence of Agua Caliente and Sonoma Creeks in 1860 A-3 A3. Confluence of Agua Caliente and Sonoma Creeks in 1980 A-4 A4. Alternate Channels Occupied by Pythian, an Unnamed Creek, and Sonoma Creek A-5 B.
    [Show full text]
  • University of California Santa Cruz NO SOMOS ANIMALES
    University of California Santa Cruz NO SOMOS ANIMALES: INDIGENOUS SURVIVAL AND PERSEVERANCE IN 19TH CENTURY SANTA CRUZ, CALIFORNIA A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in HISTORY with emphases in AMERICAN STUDIES and LATIN AMERICAN & LATINO STUDIES by Martin Adam Rizzo September 2016 The Dissertation of Martin Adam Rizzo is approved: ________________________________ Professor Lisbeth Haas, Chair _________________________________ Professor Amy Lonetree _________________________________ Professor Matthew D. O’Hara ________________________________ Tyrus Miller Vice Provost and Dean of Graduate Studies Copyright ©by Martin Adam Rizzo 2016 Table of Contents List of Figures iv Abstract vii Acknowledgments ix Introduction 1 Chapter 1: “First were taken the children, and then the parents followed” 24 Chapter 2: “The diverse nations within the mission” 98 Chapter 3: “We are not animals” 165 Chapter 4: Captain Coleto and the Rise of the Yokuts 215 Chapter 5: ”Not finding anything else to appropriate...” 261 Chapter 6: “They won’t try to kill you if they think you’re already dead” 310 Conclusion 370 Appendix A: Indigenous Names 388 Bibliography 398 iii List of Figures 1.1: Indigenous tribal territories 33 1.2: Contemporary satellite view 36 1.3: Total number baptized by tribe 46 1.4: Approximation of Santa Cruz mountain tribal territories 48 1.5: Livestock reported near Mission Santa Cruz 75 1.6: Agricultural yields at Mission Santa Cruz by year 76 1.7: Baptisms by month, through
    [Show full text]
  • Ethnohistory and Ethnogeography of the Coast Miwok and Their Neighbors, 1783-1840
    ETHNOHISTORY AND ETHNOGEOGRAPHY OF THE COAST MIWOK AND THEIR NEIGHBORS, 1783-1840 by Randall Milliken Technical Paper presented to: National Park Service, Golden Gate NRA Cultural Resources and Museum Management Division Building 101, Fort Mason San Francisco, California Prepared by: Archaeological/Historical Consultants 609 Aileen Street Oakland, California 94609 June 2009 MANAGEMENT SUMMARY This report documents the locations of Spanish-contact period Coast Miwok regional and local communities in lands of present Marin and Sonoma counties, California. Furthermore, it documents previously unavailable information about those Coast Miwok communities as they struggled to survive and reform themselves within the context of the Franciscan missions between 1783 and 1840. Supplementary information is provided about neighboring Southern Pomo-speaking communities to the north during the same time period. The staff of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA) commissioned this study of the early native people of the Marin Peninsula upon recommendation from the report’s author. He had found that he was amassing a large amount of new information about the early Coast Miwoks at Mission Dolores in San Francisco while he was conducting a GGNRA-funded study of the Ramaytush Ohlone-speaking peoples of the San Francisco Peninsula. The original scope of work for this study called for the analysis and synthesis of sources identifying the Coast Miwok tribal communities that inhabited GGNRA parklands in Marin County prior to Spanish colonization. In addition, it asked for the documentation of cultural ties between those earlier native people and the members of the present-day community of Coast Miwok. The geographic area studied here reaches far to the north of GGNRA lands on the Marin Peninsula to encompass all lands inhabited by Coast Miwoks, as well as lands inhabited by Pomos who intermarried with them at Mission San Rafael.
    [Show full text]
  • Costumes.Pdf
    Historical People, Characters During the 1830-40’s there were various people who were in Sonoma and at Rancho de Petaluma. There is not a lot of written documentation that we have found about the women or wives of the men. We have tried our best to include good resources in the bibliography, but often the descriptions and details we desire for the role playing exercises are missing. We understand that there might be a lot of “creative” attributes given to the characters, however, we ask that the children stay within the realm of the possible. We are constantly searching for sources and ask for your help. Two resources are especially good on descriptions of the people and the period. Two Years Before the Mast by Richard Henry Dana A “journal” of a man’s experience at sea during the hide and tallow trade. His descriptions of the trade and process are excellent. As well, his description of the clothing and hairstyles of those in Monterey is very detailed. 75 Years in California by William Heath Davis A historian who actually visited the sites he wrote about. His book is still considered one of the best historical accounts of the time period for which he wrote. He did visit Rancho de Petaluma and wrote about it within the book. Mariano and Francisca Vallejo had 16 children together. Of these 16, 10 lived to adulthood. We don’t include the 6 who died in the historical figures list, but they are included on the Vallejo Family page. As well, some of the information about the family occurred after the dates of 1836-1846, which is the time period for Rancho de Petaluma.
    [Show full text]
  • On the Ethnolinguistic Identity of the Napa Tribe: the Implications of Chief Constancio Occaye's Narratives As Recorded by Lorenzo G
    UC Merced Journal of California and Great Basin Anthropology Title On the Ethnolinguistic Identity of the Napa Tribe: The Implications of Chief Constancio Occaye's Narratives as Recorded by Lorenzo G. Yates Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/3k52g07t Journal Journal of California and Great Basin Anthropology, 26(2) ISSN 0191-3557 Author Johnson, John R Publication Date 2006 eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California Journal of California and Great Basin Anthropology | Vol. 26, No. 2 (2006) | pp. 193-204 REPORTS On the Ethnolinguistic of foUdore, preserved by Yates, represent some of the only knovra tradhions of the Napa tribe, and are thus highly Identity of the Napa Tribe: sigiuficant for anthropologists mterested m comparative The Implications of oral hterature in Native California. Furthermore, the Chief Constancio Occaye^s native words m these myths suggest that a reappraisal of Narratives as Recorded the ethnohnguistic identhy of the Napa people may be by Lorenzo G. Yates in order. BACKGROUND JOHN R. JOHNSON Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History Lorenzo Gordin Yates (1837-1909) was an English 2559 Puesta del Sol, Santa Barbara, CA 93105 immigrant who came to the United States as a teenager. He became a dentist by profession, but bad a lifelong About 1876, Lorenzo G. Yates interviewed Constancio passion for natural history. Yates moved his famUy from Occaye, described as the last "Chief of the Napas," and Wisconsm to California in 1864 and settled m CentreviUe recorded several items of folklore from his tribe. Yates in Alameda County, which later became a district of included Constancio's recollections about the use of Fremont.
    [Show full text]
  • The Oregon to California Trail
    Number 109 Fall 2018 The Oregon to California Trail Also Known As The Old Trapper Trail and the Siskiyou Trail By Dee Owens and Richard Silva The Oregon to California Trail, sometimes referred to as the Siskiyou Trail or the Old Trapper Trail, was a trail of commerce from the beginning, one of north and south directions. It was a trail between two territories or countries, British and American to the north and Mexican to the south. It holds the distinction of being the only early trail in northern and central California to have a history of early trapper and animal herding use prior to the main emigration period. It shares this distinction with the trails of the Platt River and other eastern trails. In the north, the trail began at Fort Vancouver, head- quarters of the Hudson’s Bay Company. The current towns of Portland, Salem, Eugene, Grants Pass, and Ashland were near the route in Oregon. In California the trail passed near Yreka, Dunsmuir, Redding and south through the Sacramento Valley to San Francis- Fort Vancouver—1845 co. The Oregon to California Trail developed from early game and Indian trails into a more obvious transporta- tion route due to the large numbers of horses and pack animals in the Hudson’s Bay Brigades going to and from California. Later the demand for animals in the Willamette Valley brought enormous herds of cattle, horses, and sheep over the route, further establishing its presence. The Siskiyou Mountains were first crossed from the south in 1826-27 by the Hudson Bay Company’s Snake Country Expedition, led by Peter Skene Ogden.
    [Show full text]
  • A Historic Resource Evaluation of the Property Located at 19315 Highway 12, Sonoma, Sonoma County, California
    Agenda Item #9.1: A HISTORIC RESOURCE EVALUATION OF THE PROPERTY LOCATED AT 19315 HIGHWAY 12, SONOMA, SONOMA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA SUBMITTED TO: Andrew Dobbs-Kramer Licensing and Compliance Director SPARC SUBMITTED BY: Stacey De Shazo, M.A. Principal Architectural Historian [email protected] Evans & De Shazo, Inc 1141 Gravenstein Highway South, Sebastopol, CA 95472 707-823-7400 March 25, 2021 www.evans-deshazo.com Page 170 of 353 Agenda Item #9.1: Table of Contents INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................................ 1 PROPERTY LOCATION ............................................................................................................................... 1 REGULATORY SETTING .............................................................................................................................. 2 CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ACT .................................................................................................................... 2 METHODS ................................................................................................................................................. 3 Cultural Resource Inventories ............................................................................................................................. 4 Online Research ................................................................................................................................................. 4 HISTORICAL
    [Show full text]
  • Official Map & Guide
    California Trail National Historic Trail / Missouri / Kansas / Nebraska / Wyoming / Utah / Idaho / Nevada / Oregon / California National Park Service Official Map & Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management Department of the Interior Guide - Large Print Forest Service Department of Agriculture Formatted for ADA standards at 11” x 17” print size. Paradise “Ho for California!” Free to the Pacific in 1805, land. Gold. Adventure. fur traders followed Between 1841 and 1869, Indian trails up western more than a quarter river valleys and across million people answered mountain passes, filling this call and crossed the in the blank spaces plains and mountains to on early maps that the “El Dorado” of the represented unknown West. By 1849 the lure country. By the late of instant wealth and 1830s, mountain men tales of gold beckoned had explored most of at the end of the 2,000- the routes that became mile California Trail. overland trails. In 1837 The story of the men, an economic panic swept women, and children the United States and who traveled overland gave people already to the West Coast has itching to move an become an American additional reason to go epic. Since the late 1700s, west. Throughout the the West had held out 1840s promoters and trail the promise of boundless guides worked hard to opportunity. After Lewis create an idyllic picture of and Clark found a way the prospects for greater Rev. 11/29/12 fortune and better health ideal climate and flowers open to Americans who that bloomed all winter made the journey to “made me just crazy to California.
    [Show full text]
  • Documents Pertaining to the Adjudication of Private Land Claims in California, Circa 1852-1904
    http://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/hb109nb422 Online items available Finding Aid to the Documents Pertaining to the Adjudication of Private Land Claims in California, circa 1852-1904 Finding Aid written by Michelle Morton and Marie Salta, with assistance from Dean C. Rowan and Randal Brandt The Bancroft Library University of California, Berkeley Berkeley, California, 94720-6000 Phone: (510) 642-6481 Fax: (510) 642-7589 Email: [email protected] URL: http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/ © 2008, 2013 The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved. Finding Aid to the Documents BANC MSS Land Case Files 1852-1892BANC MSS C-A 300 FILM 1 Pertaining to the Adjudication of Private Land Claims in Cali... Finding Aid to the Documents Pertaining to the Adjudication of Private Land Claims in California, circa 1852-1904 Collection Number: BANC MSS Land Case Files The Bancroft Library University of California, Berkeley Berkeley, California Finding Aid Written By: Michelle Morton and Marie Salta, with assistance from Dean C. Rowan and Randal Brandt. Date Completed: March 2008 © 2008, 2013 The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved. Collection Summary Collection Title: Documents pertaining to the adjudication of private land claims in California Date (inclusive): circa 1852-1904 Collection Number: BANC MSS Land Case Files 1852-1892 Microfilm: BANC MSS C-A 300 FILM Creators : United States. District Court (California) Extent: Number of containers: 857 Cases. 876 Portfolios. 6 volumes (linear feet: Approximately 75)Microfilm: 200 reels10 digital objects (1494 images) Repository: The Bancroft Library University of California, Berkeley Berkeley, California, 94720-6000 Phone: (510) 642-6481 Fax: (510) 642-7589 Email: [email protected] URL: http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/ Abstract: In 1851 the U.S.
    [Show full text]
  • How California Was Won: Race, Citizenship, and the Colonial Roots of California, 1846 – 1879
    University of Pennsylvania ScholarlyCommons Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations 2019 How California Was Won: Race, Citizenship, And The Colonial Roots Of California, 1846 – 1879 Camille Alexandrite Suárez University of Pennsylvania, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations Part of the History Commons Recommended Citation Suárez, Camille Alexandrite, "How California Was Won: Race, Citizenship, And The Colonial Roots Of California, 1846 – 1879" (2019). Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations. 3491. https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/3491 This paper is posted at ScholarlyCommons. https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/3491 For more information, please contact [email protected]. How California Was Won: Race, Citizenship, And The Colonial Roots Of California, 1846 – 1879 Abstract The construction of California as an American state was a colonial project premised upon Indigenous removal, state-supported land dispossession, the perpetuation of unfree labor systems and legal, race- based discrimination alongside successful Anglo-American settlement. This dissertation, entitled “How the West was Won: Race, Citizenship, and the Colonial Roots of California, 1849 - 1879” argues that the incorporation of California and its diverse peoples into the U.S. depended on processes of colonization that produced and justified an adaptable acialr hierarchy that protected white privilege and supported a racially-exclusive conception of citizenship. In the first section, I trace how the California Constitution and federal and state legislation violated the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. This legal system empowered Anglo-American migrants seeking territorial, political, and economic control of the region by allowing for the dispossession of Californio and Indigenous communities and legal discrimination against Californio, Indigenous, Black, and Chinese persons.
    [Show full text]
  • CHANGING LAND USE in the Area of Sonoma County, CA
    CHANGING LAND USE in the KOTATI ~ RANCHO COTATE ~ COTATI area of Sonoma County, CA by Jenny Blaker Historical Geography, Geog 330 Spring 2005 1 THE LAGUNA DE SANTA ROSA: COTATI IN CONTEXT The present-day town of Cotati/Rohnert Park can be said to lie at the headwaters of the Laguna de Santa Rosa, in the sense that from here, water flows northwest into the heart of the Laguna near Sebastopol, and on to the Russian River. The Laguna de Santa Rosa is the second largest freshwater wetland in coastal Northern California, covering 250 square miles. The Laguna is known as “the river that flows both ways” since in the summer it flows for 14 miles northwest to the Russian River, of which it is the main tributary, while in the winter it acts as a natural holding basin for floodwaters, and flows back the other way (City of Sebastopol, 2005). (Figure 1). The Laguna de Santa Rosa is a unique ecological mosaic of open water, riparian forest, oak woodland and grassland. It is an important stopover for birds migrating along the Pacific Flyway, and its wetlands and surrounding upland areas provide habitat for a wide variety of wildlife. It acts as an important holding basin for floodwaters, and performs the other ecological functions of a wetland, including filtering the water it holds (City of Sebastopol, 2005). Explorer and diarist Frank Marryat described the Sonoma and Santa Rosa Valleys in 1850: “studded with groups of oaks and flowering evergreens [with] herds of deer and “well- timbered land”, wild horses and “here and there a drove of elk or antelopes…a marsh full of wild fowl, and, stretching for miles around [a] wooded plain, covered with grass, in some places as tall as ourselves.
    [Show full text]